To determine the effects of sex on opioid-related adverse effects in children undergoing tonsillectomy, the investigators assessed opioid-related adverse effects in 275 children aged five to 15 years who underwent outpatient tonsillectomy. All study participants received standard perioperative care with a standard intraoperative dose of morphine.

For girls, but not boys, there was a significant morphine effect for postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV; P=0.001) and prolonged post-anesthesia recovery unit stay in association with PONV (P=0.010).

There was no significant difference noted in the overall incidence of respiratory depression between boys and girls, but as the total perioperative morphine dose increased to 0.3 mg/kg or more, the incidence of respiratory depression and PONV tended to be higher in white girls than boys (respiratory depression: 52% versus 32%; PONV: 43% versus 4%).

ClinicalAdvisor.com is for nurse practitioners and physician assistants, offering the latest information on diagnosing, treating, managing, and preventing medical conditions typically seen in the office-based primary-care setting.

Find all of the news and departments you love from the print issue archived for easy online access, along with special Web-only content.